Should We Support China?

So China is currently on a rampage suppressing demonstrations in Tibet (which it currently occupies against the will of nearly the entireity of it's population)... China says 10 are dead ("burned to death"), informants are telling us it may be more like a hundred. It's hard to tell, since they have forbidden free press in the nation and have limited all travel to Tibet. Just a short time ago we recieved Chinese media reports that they have "thwarted terrorists" in another occupied region of the north... killing the group reponsible for a plot against the Olympics (a claim they haven't backed up or elaborated on at all). I'm not completely convinced those were "terrorists" at all...

They've closed Mount Everest to climbers in fear that "terrorists" will thwart the carrying of the torch to the top... (or are they just afraid demonstrators will ruin their photo op?)

China is currently occupying other nations, suppressing the free practice of all religions (including the esoteric Buddhism of Tibet which is the foundation of that nation's entire culture), driving all manner of wildlife extinct, producing enough pollution to affect the air and rain quality in neighbor nations, and regularly imprisons and executes any who criticise the government.

I am not impressed.

Why are we supporting this government? Should China been given the Olympics at all? Are they being given implicit support of the world in their current campaign to make China "appear" to be a peaceful, unified, North-Korea-esque utopian state? Will this really help China improve? Or are we giving them incentive to degenerate further?

Re: Should We Support China?

What amazes me is how little (relatively) coverage the Tibet/China story is getting in the US. It just goes to show how careful the US is with respect to stepping on China's toes. Kind of signals how powerful China has become in a way. After reading your post I decided to try to hear a bit more about what was going on in Tibet and so I turned on CNN (nothing but election updates), then Fox news (coverage of Elliot Spitzer)....only a slight mention of the trouble in Tibet. I guess a story about a governor who paid for companionship is more newsworthy than a "cultural genocide" in Tibet? Kind of sad if you ask me.

Re: Should We Support China?

Grumble Grumble Grumble

From a Geo-Political standpoint, there isn't really much that the US can do. Cutting off cheap imports from China would promote an inflationary spiral that would badly hurt the already weak US economy. Plus the Central Bank of China easily has enough Treasury Bills and Dollars to wipe out the value of the US Currency if it choose to retaliate by dumping them on the world financial market. The US also doesn't have any Allies with strong land military forces in the Region that could intervene in Tibet (as Russia doesn't count!). In addition, the west needs the support of China in general to keep the rogue state of North Korea under leash, as well as try to influence the numerous bush wars in Africa, (now that China is the leading investor in that region of the world)

So the question has to be asked? What can the US do about the situation? And is importance of Tibet worth the pain and the cost of the resulting backlash of the US intervention?

Re: Should We Support China?

I was torn on the subject when I first heard that the Olympics was being held in China. My first thoughts was why should the people of China be denied the chance to show off their country/ host the Olympics, because of how their government is run?

Well, after hearing about what they are doing in Tibet, that idea went quick out of my mind. China should never have held it in the first place.

I don't think governments as a whole can really do anything about it (Well they can, but as Len said, do we want the backlash that we could possibly get?). We can boycott Chinese products. I've know of a few people who've been doing it semi-successfully for a few years and know of 1 person who's successfully doing it for decades. I don't have my heart in it, but if I have available a product not made in china I'd buy that instead (provided I can afford it).

But I'd be curious to find out, what happens when China does become a democracy, no more cheap imports? Cost of living goes up? Unless another country takes it's place?

We can try to encourage our athletes not to compete, encourage people not to but tickets. But for some, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity - do you really think they are going to boycott because of a government is not a democracy or has shocking human rights...some might.

I'd also be curious to know what would happen to foriegn people who stage a protest in China, about the Chineses governments. Would that even be possible? and What about our press? Will out press have freedom of speech over there? I don't know, I'm just throwing up questions some one here might be able to answer.

Re: Should We Support China?

Originally Posted by tsurara

Well... for starters, we can threaten to boycott the Olympics.

They've made it obvious how much the event matters to them.

I don't think they care, nor do the rest of the world. There's a reason why baseball and softball was taken out of the events by the IOC (not China). Besides I think NBC will be the first to go crazy if USA decides to do something so stupid. Heck even the American athletes would not do it. Why should they trade in 4 years of training for something that doesn't affect them directly?

I'm fairly certain we ~won't~ boycott the Olympics... but it was asked what we could do, if we wanted to be bothered with the loss of glory, ad revenue and NIKE ad-campaign deals. And if things continue as they are, we may find other nations who aren't quite so beholden to China doing just that.

One thing we can do individually is refuse to watch them.

Shouldn't be too hard, since the ratings for the last Olympics tanked :P

Re: Should We Support China?

i don't really know why China was given the Olympics in the first place. anyways...

i don't think the US will do anything directly to China. how much of our products come from there? it would take more then riots and creepy government speakers to take the Olyimpics away from them. but the arguement could be made that such an unstable country would endanger all the competitors. China sees this as their big chance to show up all their western business partners and shut up their eastern enemies... and you can already see how it has blown up in their face. whether or not the Olympics are moved, i don't think anyone's opinion of creepy communist China will change.

i will give them one thing, China has been doing some great advertising! i wanna get me one of them pandas!